The Schedule
No. 11 UC Irvine
Sunday, March 7 at 10:00 AM at Robertson Gym in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Sunday, March 7 at 4:00 PM at Robertson Gym in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Gauchos on the Air
Both editions of the doubleheader with the visiting Anteaters will be streamed live on Big West TV. Live stats and scoring will also be available on UCSBGauchos.com.
Season Opener
The No. 4 Gauchos took care of business in their back-to-back matches with No. UCSD to open the season this past week. UCSB bested the Tritons 3-1 Wednesday night before sweeping them the next night 3-0.
Keenan Sanders was outstanding in the series posting 28 kills with no errors for a team-best hitting percentage of .757. He posted a 16-0-20 line for a .800 hitting percentage in the season opener.
AVCA Preseason Poll
The UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team was ranked third in the American Volleyball Coaches Association' preseason poll for the 2021 season.
The Gauchos had the second-highest ranking among Big West Conference teams, which occupy five of the spots in the top seven. UCSB is one rank below Hawai'i but above Long Beach State (4th), UC Irvine (6th), and UC San Diego (T-7th).
Prior to the cancellation of the 2020 men's volleyball season in March, UCSB was off to a 14-2 start, claiming wins at Stanford, UCLA, Ohio State, and USC, with its only losses coming against second-ranked BYU in Provo, Utah. At the time of the cancellation, the Gauchos were on an eight-game winning streak.
Four Gauchos in senior opposite hitter Randy DeWeese, senior setter Casey McGarry, senior middle blocker Keenan Sanders, and senior outside hitter Roy McFarland earned selection to both the All-Big West teams and to the AVCA All-America lists at the conclusion of last season. Head coach Rick McLaughlin was selected as the Big West Coach of the Year and the AVCA National Coach of the Year.
Big West Preseason Poll
For the second straight season the UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team has been picked to finish second in the Big West Conference preseason coaches poll.
Trio of Gauchos Named Preseason All-Americans
Prior to the start of the season, UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team landed three players on Off the Block's preseason All-America list.
Setter Casey McGarry was named a First Team All-American, while opposite Randy DeWeese and middle blocker Keenan Sanders earned spots on the Second Team.
In 2020, McGarry became the first Big West player to lead the conference in both assists per set and digs per set. In just 16 matches the Manhattan Beach, Calif. native matched his season-high in total assists from 2019 (593) and set new personal marks in digs, blocks, points, and kills. He notched 30+ assists in all but one match despite 10 of the team's contests coming in three-set sweeps and found a season high 53 assists in a five-set loss to BYU. His career-high in digs came in the team's reverse sweep of No. 9 Penn State, in which he scooped up 20.
DeWeese earned a nod to the Second Team following a season in which the senior transitioned from the setter position to playing opposite. His 3.70 kills per set mark ranked 16th in the country, landing 207 kills in total. In addition, he found new career-highs in every category but assists.
The Sacramento, Calif. native truly found his rhythm late in the non-conference slate. In the team's last five matches, DeWeese tallied 76 kills for an average of 4.47 kills per set, broke his career-high in kills twice, set a new career-high in digs, and earned back-to-back Big West Player of the Week Awards.
Sanders was one of the Gauchos' most efficient players in 2020. The middle blocker finished atop the Big West Conference and second in the country in hitting percentage posting a career-high .521 attack line with 113 kills. It took just 188 swings to accomplish that feat thanks to his career-low 15 errors, which was also best in the nation. He also had an excellent campaign defensively, ending the season with a 1.05 blocks per set mark.
The trio, who were also selected as All-Big West First Teamers and AVCA All-Americans following the 2020 season, were part of a class of 11 Big West players named preseason All-Americans.
